Russia working hard on political settlement process in Syria — Kremlin

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier that after the total defeat of Islamist militants in Syria, the global community "will have to talk" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

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MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Moscow believes that all countries that are capable of contributing to the political settlement process in Syria should take action, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. According to him, Russia still considers Bashar al-Assad to be Syria’s legitimate president.

"We definitely believe that all the countries that can make a significant contribution to the political settlement process in Syria should do that. As you know, Russia has been working hard in that direction," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"As for Assad, he is and will remain the legitimate president of the Syrian Arab Republic," Peskov stressed.

He added that the Kremlin would like to refrain from interfering in the exchange of statements between Damascus and Paris. "We would like to refrain from commenting on the exchange of statements between Damascus and Paris, it is none of our business," Peskov said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier in an interview with the France 2 TV channel that after the total defeat of Islamist militants in Syria, the global community "will have to talk" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Bashar al-Assad is the enemy of the Syrian people, while my enemy is IS [the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS]. Bashar al-Assad will stay there particularly because he enjoys the protection of those who have achieved victory on the ground, be it Iran or Russia. So we cannot say that we don’t want to talk with him or his representatives," Macron said.